Practicing for Recording Sessions

Gerald Klickstein September 18, 2011 music performance, music practice, Self-recording No Comments

Tags: deliberate practice, how to practice music, music career guidance, music performance, music practice, practicing music, recording, Self-recording

“Many musicians perform freely in front of people
but become self-conscious when recording.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 222

For countless aspiring musicians, recording sessions are trying affairs.

All too often, when the recording gear switches on, artistic and technical fine points that they thought were under their control slip from their grasp.

The following eight practice tips, adapted from Chapter 11 of The Musician’s Way, will help you excel in the studio.

1. Spruce Up Your Style
On top of practicing your material deeply, refine your tone, rhythm, and interpretation; also mitigate extraneous sounds such as shifting feet and loud breaths.

If you’re accustomed to performing live, bear in mind that certain rough edges that go unnoticed in live shows will sound crass in the studio. In your practice room, therefore, listen with the discriminating ears of a producer.

2. Maintain a Stable Position
When you record, the sound source and microphones need to be in a steady relationship. Added to that, excessive movements generate noise.

Keyboardists usually aren’t troubled by this issue, but for many others, steady positioning can be tiring. Acclimate in practice to any positioning constraints, and you’ll be more at home in the studio.

3. Manage Your Beginnings and Endings
Use longer silent counts to launch each piece and then extend your closing silences, framing every selection in stillness.

4. Solidify Tempos
Jot down metronome settings and be a stickler for consistency of tempo in practice. For editing purposes, all takes of a piece should be at identical tempos.

5. Plan the Length of Takes
If you’re dividing pieces into sections and recording those sections individually, practice starting and ending each chunk.

6. Polish Intonation
Regularly refer to an electronic tuner, keyboard, or other pitch source to guarantee that your intonation is reliable.

7. Practice Performing
Above all, enlist a personal recorder and practice performing, employing the same deliberate protocol you’ll use in the studio.

Announce titles and take numbers (“Prelude, first section, take one”), create ample silence, maintain a stable position, and play or sing through errors. In general, execute complete takes, even when things get bumpy midway.

8. Ensure Quality
You or your engineer can edit your takes together to eliminate glitches, but you can’t turn a mediocre performance into a superior one. Only schedule a recording session after your performance level reaches the benchmark of excellence.

For more about preparing for concerts, auditions, competitions, and recording sessions, see Part II of The Musician’s Way.